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Cited by 106Cognitive Functions and MemorySleep and Wakefulness ResearchMemory Processes and Influences

Remembering to Execute a Goal: Sleep on It!

Scullin, Michael K., McDaniel, Mark A.·2010·Psychological Science
DOI 10.1177/0956797610373373
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Abstract

Remembering to execute deferred goals (prospective memory) is a ubiquitous memory challenge, and one that is often not successfully accomplished. Could sleeping after goal encoding promote later execution? We evaluated this possibility by instructing participants to execute a prospective memory goal after a short delay (20 min), a 12-hr wake delay, or a 12-hr sleep delay. Goal execution declined after the 12-hr wake delay relative to the short delay. In contrast, goal execution was relatively preserved after the 12-hr sleep delay relative to the short delay. The sleep-enhanced goal execution was not accompanied by a decline in performance of an ongoing task in which the prospective memory goal was embedded, which suggests that the effect was not a consequence of attentional resources being reallocated from the ongoing task to the prospective memory goal. Our results suggest that consolidation processes active during sleep increase the probability that a goal will be spontaneously retrieved and executed.

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Crossref · 10.1177/0956797610373373

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37 of 37 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Sleep has been proposed to benefit memory for intentions to perform specific actions in the future.

    “Sleep has also been proposed to especially benefit memory for information needed in the near future [[23] although see Wamsley et al. [24]], and intentions to perform specific actions in the future [25, 26].”

    From Constructive episodic simulation in dreams (2022) · cites this paper as [26]

  • Sleep after encoding benefited memory to perform an intended action at a designated time.

    “Similar to the preferential influence on relevant memories, sleep after encoding benefited the memory to perform an intended action at a designated time (298, 1056), suggesting an enhancing effect of sleep also on prospective memory for future plans.”

    From About Sleep's Role in Memory (2013) · cites this paper as [1056]

  • Relevance of an encoded memory for an individual's future plans consistently favors sleep-dependent strengthening of that memory.

    “A third factor that was consistently found to favor the sleepdependent strengthening of a memory is the relevance of an encoded memory for an individual's future plans (218,298,380,1056,1236,1319).”

    From About Sleep's Role in Memory (2013) · cites this paper as [1056]

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Authors
Scullin, M. K., & McDaniel, M. A.
Affiliations
Washington University in St. Louis (US)
Corresponding author
Scullin, Michael K.
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Science
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2010-06-02
Volume
21
Issue
7
Pages
1028-1035
ISSN
  • 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-9280
DOI
10.1177/0956797610373373
OpenAlex
W2158528169
Cited by
106
References
36
Citations by year
2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 10
FWCI
10.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
Keywords
prospective memory, sleep, memory consolidation, spontaneous retrieval, attentional resources, task embeddings
MeSH terms
Analysis of Variance, Goals, Humans, Memory, Memory, Short-Term, Semantics, Sleep, Students, Task Performance and Analysis, Time Factors

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